This is not computer-generated scenes for Hollywood big-money thrillers. It is a real sandstorm sweeping across the Kashgar Prefecture in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region late Monday.

With walls of packed sands falling over and on people and buildings from as high as 100 meters, visibility was reduced to arm’s length at best.

Local meteorological authorities issued an orange alert the second highest severity.

Massive sandstorms have hit Tumxuk City and Minfeng County in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region since Monday.

A powerful sandstorm swept Tumxuk on Monday evening. Videos shot by local residents show that a huge amount of sand and dust was blown about a hundred meters high, and the visibility on roads was reduced to less than five meters.

The sandstorm lasted for four hours with strong winds, dusty weather and temperature slump.

Affected by a strong cold wave, a sandstorm hit Minfeng County in Hutan Prefecture at around 06:00 on Tuesday. The maximum wind speed of 9.4 meters per second lowered the visibility to less than 60 meters, destroying trees and billboards along roads.